requiemforkingsmouthfandomcom-20200213-history
Malocusians
Malocusians 'Bloodline Curse: the Agoraphobic Curse' The Requiem of a Malocusian vampire takes place almost entirely in his haven — and necessarily so. In addition to the weakness of the Ventrue clan, Malocusians suffer from a debilitating dependence on their havens. To even cross the threshold of her haven and enter the outside night, a Spider must spend a Willpower point. Every Willpower point spent in this way enables a Malocusian to operate away from her haven for a number of hours equal to her Humanity. Once those hours are up, she must spend another Willpower point to remain out and about. If the Malocusian does not make this Willpower expenditure, she suffers a penalty to all Mental and Social dice pools equal to her Blood Potency. 'Bloodline Gift: The Web Trembles' This power reflects a Malocusian’s connection to the haven he has bound to himself. As Spiders grow older and more powerful, the distinction between the vampire and his haven breaks down. A Spider's haven is an extension of himself. To mark down his haven he must perform what Malocusians call “the investiture.” Investiture requires the Kindred to mark the perimeter of his haven with his own Vitae. The larger the area claimed, the more Vitae the investiture requires. Full investiture (i.e., completely marking a haven’s perimeter) requires several nights and a great deal of Vitae. Even a modest haven consequently requires the Kindred to feed much more than he would need to under normal circumstances. The investiture is something of a rite of passage and sometimes the most dangerous portion of a new Malocusian’s Requiem. Once it’s completed, however, the investiture provides the Kindred with security and power within his haven that other Kindred can only envy. The vampire must walk a circuit around his new haven while marking it with Vitae. Three is sufficient to invest a small building such as a house, six is sufficient to invest a large building such as a church, and nine is sufficient to invest a huge building such as a cathedral or apartment block. She must make sure that the area contains no other vampires; many Kindred prefer to evict all supernatural denizens. After the investiture is complete the haven becomes an extension of the vampire himself. The haven may hold vitae equal to twice its dots in the Haven merit and it may spend an amount of vitae per turn equal to half of what the Spider himself can spend (rounded up). Meaning that at Blood Potency 1, a 3-dot Haven could hold up to 6 vitae and spend 1 vitae a turn. The Malocusian may sacrifice Vitae to the house (usually by opening a vein and bleeding onto the floor or flinging his Vitae across the walls) to move his vitae to the house. He may also drink from goblets, or anything else within the house to move the vitae from the house to himself. At its most basic capability, the house only serves as an extension of the maximum blood pool of the vampire, but the Malocusian also gains access to two merits, which represent the different capabilities of the house. For all those powers, only the house itself may spend the vitae (though nothing forbids the vampire from sacrificing blood to the house on one turn, and then use it to fuel one of the powers on the next), however the Vampire’s player always makes the choice. 'Disciplines' Animalism, Dominate, Obfuscate, Resilience 'Merits' The Spider's Web Prerequisite: Haven • • The Web Trembles :So attuned to his property is the Malocusian that he knows when the boundary of his territory is crossed. The land tells the house, the house conveys the information to its master. The very boards and nails whisper the intelligence to him. In time, many Malocusians come to think of this sensation as akin to the ringing of the dinner bell. Most think of it also as something like a brush against the skin — subtle, acute and intimate. Any material creature sets off this territorial sense. If the Malocusian in question has some other ability to sense ephemeral creatures, such as ghosts and spirits, even they are detectable with this power. :Every time someone crosses the border into the vampire's domain, the storyteller rolls Wits + Empathy + Haven versus the subject’s Composure (+ Obfuscate, if applicable and activated). A single success allows the Malocusian to know when and where an intruder has entered his domain, including flying creatures up to 100 feet above. He also instinctively knows whether that creature has a Predatory Aura. This happens even if the Spider is in daysleep or torpor, though he may be helpless to act. •• The Web Knows :Upon learning that someone entered his domain, the Malocusian may consciously track the intruder's movements until he leaves. If the intruder is anyone the Spider has ever met, he instinctively recognizes the intruder's identity. If the intruder has a Predatory Aura, he knows the individual's Blood Potency. ••• The Web Speaks :Beyond simply tracking an intruder, this power turns the Haven into a massive sensory organ for the Malocusian. He sees, hears and feels everything that goes on within the walls of the house. Not only does he know where any trespassers are, he can observe them in his mind as though he were watching them directly. If the intruder is attempting to be stealthy, the Malocusian rolls Wits + Empathy + Safe Place to contest. This dice pool can also be used for Clash of Wills for anything perception-based. :Cost: 1 Vitae per scene (spent by the haven) •••• The Web Provides :The haven may hunt and store blood for itself and its master. Once a day, while the Spider sleeps, or once a night, while the Spider is out, the Haven may hunt for blood from foraging animals, neighbor kids and even errant vampires. As with all hunting actions, no single dice pool is appropriate for this task. As with other hunting rolls, each success brings in one Vitae, which the haven stores within its walls and grounds. To accomplish this the haven might subtly alter the grounds to draw in animals (Manipulation + Animal Ken) or dramatically alter the grounds to draw in curious schoolchildren (Presence + Persuasion). ••••• The Web Protects :The Malocusian may merge into the Haven to enjoy great protection. Both of them spend one Vitae (note: this is an exception and the only power where the Malocusian spends vitae, to activate an aspect power). The Malocusian turns to blood, which is absorbed by the haven. Damaging the haven does not damage the vampire directly, but it can force him out of the haven’s physical structure. Damage to the walls or fixtures of the haven merely rob the Spider of weapons to use. Fire damage to the haven, however, forces the Spider to resume his own form, which he may do anywhere within the confines of the blood boundary, including the grounds outside the house. The precise amount of fire damage varies based on the nature of the haven, as decided by the Storyteller, but a good guideline is this: once the fire inside the haven is large enough to deal damage equal to the Spider’s Health + Haven dots, the Malocusian is ejected. :While merged in this manner, The Malocusian may control the structure of the house and everything in the house as he would his limbs, with a combat dice pool of Presence + Weaponry + Safe Place. Only objects that are installed in the body of the haven may be used by the Malocusian in this way. For example, chandeliers, doors and shutters may be used to attack, but furniture may not. Enemies within the haven can find little cover and are almost certainly caught by surprise during the initial attacks. The Spider's Haven Prerequisite: Haven • • The Healing Haven :The haven is cued to the Cleansing. When the Malocusian wakes each night, the Haven may spend one point of Vitae to heal. All damaged surfaces, fixtures and so forth within the haven repair one point of Structure. •• The Hastening Haven :The web aids the Malocusian move faster. Within his haven, the Malocusian enjoys a bonus to his Speed and Initiative equal to his Haven dots. ••• The Hampering Haven :Once an intruder comes into the Malocusian's domain, the Haven may spend one vitae to turn against the intruder. The intruder gets a penalty equal to the Safe Place merit to his Speed, Initiative and perception rolls. Many Malocusians lure victims into their haven and then easily hunt them down, knowing that they cannot escape easily. •••• The Hindering Haven :The haven may spend one point of Vitae to inflict a penalty equal to the Safe Place merit to all an intruder's Social and Physical rolls for the remainder of the scene ••••• The Helping Haven :Those who stray into the Malocusian's web often realize too late that they are in his domain and that within it he is extremely powerful. By paying one vitae per scene (from the Haven’s pool) the Spider enjoys the benefit of his house's aid. The place becomes attuned to, and shifts to accommodate, his needs. For the rest of the scene, the Malocusion gains a bonus equal to his Haven dots on his Physical and Social dice pools as though it were a specialized piece of equipment. 'Source' The Invictus, pp 192-6. Blood & Smoke revisions by Is_A_Becca, vastly inspired by Griautis's version.